Masters in Research Methods Before Getting PhD?

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psychsquirrel

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So my end goal is to get my PhD in Clinical Psych, but during my undergrad, I mostly got clinical experience (I did volunteer for two research labs). Now I'm realizing that I want to get involved with research, but I know that my experience isn't enough to make myself competitive. My question is...would it make sense to get a Masters in Research Methods to build that research foundation to make my application stick out once I apply to PhD programs?

Any advice is appreciated! Thanks :)

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You could, but a full time RA position, or even continuing to volunteer in a lab would likely be equally beneficial. I typically don't recommend MA or MS programs to people unless their UG GPA is lackluster. If you have a competitive UG GPA, clinical experience, and can spend a year or so volunteering/on staff for a study and find a way to get your name on some conference presentations/manuscripts, you'll likely fair well when you apply to PhD programs & save yourself tens of thousands of dollars in tuition, fees, & living expenses (unless you find a master's program that offers you funding).
 
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You could, but a full time RA position, or even continuing to volunteer in a lab would likely be equally beneficial. I typically don't recommend MA or MS programs to people unless their UG GPA is lackluster. If you have a competitive UG GPA, clinical experience, and can spend a year or so volunteering/on staff for a study and find a way to get your name on some conference presentations/manuscripts, you'll likely fair well when you apply to PhD programs & save yourself tens of thousands of dollars in tuition, fees, & living expenses (unless you find a master's program that offers you funding).

Randomly random:

I love your icon so much.


To OP: if you'd like a list with some funded programs you can PM me. :) Also, even with my program being fully funded (no tuition, no fees, really cheap stipend) and in an EXTREMELY cheap part of the country I am having to take out a 10k loan for living expenses.
 
So my end goal is to get my PhD in Clinical Psych, but during my undergrad, I mostly got clinical experience (I did volunteer for two research labs). Now I'm realizing that I want to get involved with research, but I know that my experience isn't enough to make myself competitive. My question is...would it make sense to get a Masters in Research Methods to build that research foundation to make my application stick out once I apply to PhD programs?

Any advice is appreciated! Thanks :)

This is almost the exact route that I went. I just finished my MA degree in psych research (not necessarily "Experimental Psych" or such as the program was more tailored to your interests, so I balanced quant and qual methods). I, too, had very limited research experience as an UG, but did have some clinical experience. I heard the same thing re: my grad applications- clinical experience is nice, but research experience is much better and most likely required. So I actually switched from a clinical MA to a research MA specifically to get more research training, exposure, and general knowledge.

I think you should carefully evaluate what you long-term goals are, and also be open to change. I was 100% determined for a CLinical PhD track, thinking this program would set me up for that. Then came a baby and some other life decisions and I am re-thinking my plans and pursuing other social science PhD programs such as sociology or even Counselor Education where the job prospects seem much better. In sum, if you had little to none research experience as UG, definitely want to go on for a PhD because you are interested in research, then I think its a smart move to set-up a foundation and gain more experience.

EDIT: As a side note, a MA degree in research methods or the like might be a good thing not only setting you up for education, but also because it is broad enough where you can apply research methods to almost anything- medicine, social sciences, business (e.g. marketing research or consumer psychology). Just need to figure out what path you want or gain exposure to a wide array to make an informed decision or even build up a diversified CV
 
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I am hung up on the "sociology" portion of your response. I have one close friend (and several other folks I met through him) at a top of the line RI university who can not get jobs with their phd in sociology. I have heard similar stories from folks in other social sciences (e.g. anthropology) and humanities (e.g., literature, creative writing, languages, etc.). Multiple publications, even grants, teaching experience etc., and no jobs. One person I met tried 3 years straight for a TT position, without success. He is ad hocking 2-3 classes per semester and working at Starbucks part-time (for the income and health insurance), working himself to death, and barely making 30gs a year. Stories like that make me cringe. As bad as we have it in psychology, I think many of doctoral level colleagues in the humanities and even the social sciences are in even worse places.

Just curious if you can post where you read or heard about the ample opportunities in Sociology? I'd love to pass that on to my buddy and some of his colleagues :)

Oh---and a note on the research methods portion of this thread. I think if you are serious in getting a doctoral degree and becoming a researcher, getting a masters in research methods can be invaluable. I completed my doctoral degree last summer, and am a postdoc at the present - I was and remain amazed at how many of my colleagues in clinical, school and counseling psych really have poor understanding in research methodology and data analytic techniques.


This is almost the exact route that I went. I just finished my MA degree in psych research (not necessarily "Experimental Psych" or such as the program was more tailored to your interests, so I balanced quant and qual methods). I, too, had very limited research experience as an UG, but did have some clinical experience. I heard the same thing re: my grad applications- clinical experience is nice, but research experience is much better and most likely required. So I actually switched from a clinical MA to a research MA specifically to get more research training, exposure, and general knowledge.

I think you should carefully evaluate what you long-term goals are, and also be open to change. I was 100% determined for a CLinical PhD track, thinking this program would set me up for that. Then came a baby and some other life decisions and I am re-thinking my plans and pursuing other social science PhD programs such as sociology or even Counselor Education where the job prospects seem much better. In sum, if you had little to none research experience as UG, definitely want to go on for a PhD because you are interested in research, then I think its a smart move to set-up a foundation and gain more experience.

EDIT: As a side note, a MA degree in research methods or the like might be a good thing not only setting you up for education, but also because it is broad enough where you can apply research methods to almost anything- medicine, social sciences, business (e.g. marketing research or consumer psychology). Just need to figure out what path you want or gain exposure to a wide array to make an informed decision or even build up a diversified CV
 
I am hung up on the "sociology" portion of your response. I have one close friend (and several other folks I met through him) at a top of the line RI university who can not get jobs with their phd in sociology. I have heard similar stories from folks in other social sciences (e.g. anthropology) and humanities (e.g., literature, creative writing, languages, etc.). Multiple publications, even grants, teaching experience etc., and no jobs. One person I met tried 3 years straight for a TT position, without success. He is ad hocking 2-3 classes per semester and working at Starbucks part-time (for the income and health insurance), working himself to death, and barely making 30gs a year. Stories like that make me cringe. As bad as we have it in psychology, I think many of doctoral level colleagues in the humanities and even the social sciences are in even worse places.

Just curious if you can post where you read or heard about the ample opportunities in Sociology? I'd love to pass that on to my buddy and some of his colleagues :)

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That is really shocking. I mean, I have always assumed humanities faculty positions are extremely hard to come by. I thought sociology had a better outlook based on this report. I also posted this on another thread, so I apologize if this is considered any type of cross-posting self-plagiarism:)

"A comparison between the number of positions advertised in the ASA Job Bank and the number of new PhDs in sociology suggests that there are more jobs than new PhDs or that demand exceeds supply. The number of new PhDs in sociology has averaged well under than 600 for the past two decades. In contrast, the number of assistant professor openings is now at least 600, and may be closer to 650 once open-rank positions are included. Adding post-doctoral positions and instructor positions yields a total of over 700 new positions even without taking nonacademic positions into account."

http://www.asanet.org/images/research/docs/pdf/Too Many or Too Few PhDs.pdf
 
Thank you! I applied to doctoral programs last fall and didn't get in, so my original plan was to find a psych-related job and work for a couple of years then reapply...but I've had no luck with that either. I feel stuck. I am working in a non-psych job and recently started volunteering for a research lab, but I don't know if that is enough to make me stand out. I know that applying to Masters programs before doing a PhD is a viable option, but I'm worried about accumulating more debt and I also know that most credits don't transfer over to the PhD. I just want to go back to school!
 
Your document was from 2008, based on 2006 data.

Here is one from 2009, published directly by the American Sociology Association...

http://www.asanet.org/research/ASAJobBankStudy09.pdf

Those numbers of unemployed sociology phds have likely built up over the past few years, which would make a job hunt today even more difficult. With that said, you would not be on the market for 5-6 years at least, so hopefully the job market would have improved by then :naughty:

That is really shocking. I mean, I have always assumed humanities faculty positions are extremely hard to come by. I thought sociology had a better outlook based on this report. I also posted this on another thread, so I apologize if this is considered any type of cross-posting self-plagiarism:)

"A comparison between the number of positions advertised in the ASA Job Bank and the number of new PhDs in sociology suggests that there are more jobs than new PhDs or that demand exceeds supply. The number of new PhDs in sociology has averaged well under than 600 for the past two decades. In contrast, the number of assistant professor openings is now at least 600, and may be closer to 650 once open-rank positions are included. Adding post-doctoral positions and instructor positions yields a total of over 700 new positions even without taking nonacademic positions into account."

http://www.asanet.org/images/research/docs/pdf/Too Many or Too Few PhDs.pdf
 
Your document was from 2008, based on 2006 data.

Here is one from 2009, published directly by the American Sociology Association...

http://www.asanet.org/research/ASAJobBankStudy09.pdf

Those numbers of unemployed sociology phds have likely built up over the past few years, which would make a job hunt today even more difficult. With that said, you would not be on the market for 5-6 years at least, so hopefully the job market would have improved by then :naughty:
Thanks for the information... that's really good to know. I will read over the 2009 report more closely. I still think, in general, the ration between graduates and jobs is important to consider, for any job. I found the 2006 reort striking with that ratio. And now, with psychology and the dramatic increase of for-profit professional schools (not all are bad though) it seems the job market is much more saturated than sociology PhDs
 
Thank you! I applied to doctoral programs last fall and didn't get in, so my original plan was to find a psych-related job and work for a couple of years then reapply...but I've had no luck with that either. I feel stuck. I am working in a non-psych job and recently started volunteering for a research lab, but I don't know if that is enough to make me stand out. I know that applying to Masters programs before doing a PhD is a viable option, but I'm worried about accumulating more debt and I also know that most credits don't transfer over to the PhD. I just want to go back to school!

Maybe you should consider applying to the fully-funded masters programs. A search on this forum should turn up several threads that list these.
 
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